


Runaways

by greygerbil



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-17 04:29:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14825255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greygerbil/pseuds/greygerbil
Summary: Gladio and Ignis are eager to fulfil their duties to the best of their potential, but, being only thirteen, sometimes the pressure still gets to them. One night, they decide to ditch their tasks and go out into town.





	Runaways

**Author's Note:**

> For Gladio Fluff Week, Day 6: Teenage Rebellion

“Didn’t you want to celebrate your birthday?”

Gladio rinsed their empty rice bowls in the sink, clearing them of leftover grains and curry. Ignis was getting real good at cooking, which was great for him because Ignis was allowed use of the Citadel kitchens and when they were both working late, he would often make something quick for them out of leftovers. It beat eating fast food all the time.

“Noct has been struggling with most subjects lately. Besides, I need to have sessions with all the counsellors so they can give me an introduction to their areas of expertise before I start attending the ruling council this summer,” Ignis said.

Over his shoulder, Gladio saw Ignis play mindlessly with the cuff of his shirt and suppress a yawn. He scrubbed the bowls with a sponge, rinsed them again, set them aside.

“It’s been a month now. It’s almost time to celebrate _my_ birthday.”

Ignis shrugged. He was sitting kind of lopsided at the kitchen table. Gladio thought he looked tired.

“My mother also wants me to go through the old council meeting minutes, so I definitely won’t have time from now. But I’d rather you be around for the party, anyway, and you’re doing the night shift from Monday on, aren’t you?”

“Until August, at least.”

Cor said he had to get used to all duties the Crownsguards had around the castle, which was important, of course, so Gladio felt bad that he wasn’t looking forward to it. He’d still have school and practice with Noctis and he had to keep up his own training schedule, too. Guard duties during the day ate up time as well, but the shifts where shorter. Cor had already warned him he probably wouldn’t sleep much the next months, but that was part of the training, Gladio knew. You had to be resilient in the face of hardship, as his father always said. And he wasn’t worried about sleeping, he’d manage that somehow – but he probably wouldn’t have time to sit around with Ignis like this, either, and that sucked.

Of course, that was to be expected, now that they were older. Ignis had just turned thirteen, Gladio’s fourteenth birthday wasn’t far away. They weren’t kids anymore and a lot of people depended on them doing their jobs. Ignis’ parents were always busy in the city’s economic strategy committee and barely ever at home, and Gladio’s own father, his only remaining parent, spent all his time with King Regis. That was just the way it was when you grew up.

“You’re not going to celebrate at this rate, either,” Ignis noted.

“Guess not,“ Gladio said, sitting down on the edge of the table. “I can still do something with Iris.”

Ignis hummed an indistinct noise as an answer, staring off at the wall.

Gladio should have gone off to the Crownsguard training grounds like half an hour ago. He really needed to polish his footwork while carrying a claymore and Cor had arranged for a practice room to stay clear just for Gladio tonight, though he wouldn’t be able to attend himself. Gladio also knew Ignis still needed to do research in the royal library to prepare for Noctis’ tutoring session tomorrow.

And yet, neither of them moved. After all, no one was looking. Their negligence would become obvious eventually, sure, but not right now.

“You know,” Gladio said wistfully, “if we’d ever take an evening off, tonight would be a good idea.”

Ignis’ head snapped up.

“Tonight? We are busy.”

“Yeah, but no one’s really checking on us. We could... I don’t know. Just get out.”

He wanted to see something that wasn’t his house, his school, or the Citadel. As long as it was with Ignis, anything would be cool.

Carefully, Ignis pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I haven’t been in the city for any other purpose than running errands in a long time.”

“If we went through the park, no one would see us,” Gladio said, warming up to his stray idea more than he probably should.

Ignis hesitated, front teeth digging into his bottom lip for a moment before he looked up at Gladio again.

“My mother’s car is still parked outside, since she went with my father. We _could_ also take that. I have the keys.”

Ignis had gotten a special driver’s permit in case he would ever have to chauffeur the prince and no one else was at hand, which Gladio was slightly jealous of, though he didn’t really envy him that task, either. Obviously, Ignis wasn’t supposed to abuse that privilege for joyrides, but Gladio felt a flutter of excitement at the idea. With a car, they could get so far away they wouldn’t be likely to run into any royal personnel.

“Let’s go,” he said, sliding off the edge of the table.

“Really?” Ignis asked. He sounded like he couldn’t quite believe he was about to do this. Gladio knew what that felt like. His heart was racing. He had to convince Ignis before his own courage left him.

“Yeah! Come on, just this once.”

If they did get caught then Gladio knew it’d be a timed competition whether Cor or his father would get to him first. Cor would have him running double shifts until he was too tired to walk, and he hadn’t given his father a reason to kick his ass in a while, but he’d definitely be in for a beating after this. Ignis, for his part, would end up grounded for the rest of the year or something and he’d never hear the end of it from his parents, who were always worried their son might embarrass them in front of the king through some misstep.

They really shouldn’t be doing this, but they were already hurrying down the hallway side by side.

-

“Can you even reach the pedals?”

Ignis threw him an indignant look as he adjusted the driver’s seat. Unlike Gladio, Ignis still hadn’t hit a significant growth spurt, and he looked funny barely peering over the wheel of the car. They had escaped through the servant’s entrance, dodging the patrolling guards, whose routes Gladio knew by heart. Ignis had led him to a sleek, black car waiting at the side of the road.

“Where are we going?” Ignis asked as he pulled out of the parking spot into the sparse flow of traffic.

“Uh… I don’t know. You want to go to an arcade, maybe, or just hang out?”

Ignis thought about this for a moment as he took the first available turn away from the towering Citadel behind them.

“I’ve been around people all day, so I’d rather find somewhere quiet.”

“You’re gonna kick me out of the car?”

Ignis shook his head.

“It’s different with _you_ ,” he said.

Gladio didn’t know what that even really meant, just that it made his stomach flip. He looked out of the window at the tall houses they passed by.

“Hey, let’s stop by a shop first. We can get some snacks.” He frowned. “I wonder if I could buy booze?”

Neither of them were strangers to the odd glass of wine or champagne at an official function, so he doubted Ignis would drive the car into a lamp post after a drink.

Ignis looked him up and down as they stood at a red light.

“Maybe,” he said, curiously. “The uniform makes you look way older.”

“But _you’d_ have to stay in the car or the game is up,” Gladio said with a grin.

Ignis sent him another pissy look, but was wise enough not to protest the fact.

They stopped before a small, dingy corner shop. Gladio walked in through the smudged glass door and picked up some potato chips first. As he scanned the bottles of beer, he tried to look casual, like he knew the brands and was just trying to decide what to go with, and then grabbed two bottles at random and walked up to the counter, ready to put on his deepest voice. However, the women there barely looked up from her magazine and simply scanned the items. Gladio hurried back to the car feeling like he had stolen something in the shop despite the fact that he’d of course paid her and sank down in the seat next to Ignis with a huge grin.

“Got it,” he said, triumphantly.

“Now to find somewhere to stay,” Ignis reminded him.

“Anywhere is fine,” Gladio said with a shrug.

It would even be fun to just cruise around the city with no one bothering them, watching people and shops and apartment houses flash by. That would keep Ignis’ too busy to eat or drink, though.

“I think I know a place,” Ignis said, leaning forward.

-

They stopped at a bridge passing over the huge, six-lane road that cut into the centre of Insomnia from the factory district where most production had been handled since Insomnia had shut its gates to the world outside. Huge trucks rumbled back and forth and cars zipped between them, a constant stream of flashing lights in white, yellow, red, with the factories’ outlines painted in dark shadows and bright neon lamps like tiny stars in the distance. From here, you could make yourself believe the road went ever onwards, past the factories, past the wall, out into the world, and Ignis and Gladio just had to get back in the car to get there, away from everything.

Gladio managed to get the beer bottles open on the iron railing of the bridge. They pushed them together with a quiet clink as they perched on the hood of the car. It was a mild night and they had left their jackets on their seats, enjoying the breeze as they pushed chips in their mouth and sipped the bitter beer.

“Thanks for bringing me out here,” Ignis said, turning the bottle in his hands.

“You drove the car.”

“I wouldn’t have come on my own. It’s fun to do things with you, though, you know? So it’s good we took the time before we’ll be too busy.”

The bottle turned faster in his hands. He cleared his throat. Gladio felt really warm all of a sudden.

“Yeah,” he said, looking down. He was so intent on staring at his boots that he only noticed Ignis had moved closer when he felt his breath on his ear and then Ignis pressed a kiss to his cheek and Gladio was pretty sure he went all red in the face.

Quickly, Ignis turned away to look at the factories, but he didn’t scoot back to where he’d originally sat, so Gladio placed his hand over Ignis’ on the warm hood of the car. Ignis smiled.

-

It was past midnight when they made their way back and Gladio knew they’d pay for the lack of rest tomorrow, but he was so happy he couldn’t care. They listened to old songs on a radio station from outside that pushed with some static through the wall which surrounded Insomnia and Gladio focused on the songs and Ignis next to him, not on the towering building they were driving towards.

Ignis parked the car exactly where it had been before. They sat still for a moment before Ignis pushed the driver’s side door open with a sigh.

They were still holding hands on the way to the servant’s entrance as Gladio dug for the key in his pocket. It would be more difficult to gauge from here where the guards were. Gladio and Ignis stood in the shadows of a column to wait until a figure had passed by the window down the hallway, then scurried towards the door, key ready.

It swung open before them just as Gladio put the key in the lock. They looked up at King Regis.

Gladio’s heart dropped into his stomach. He immediately straightened his back and let go off Ignis’ hand. Next to him, Ignis pushed his heels together and pressed his arms tightly too his side, the colour draining from his face.

“I was just about to ask a guard if they had seen you around,” Regis said, considering the two of them. “I figured you may have left through here, since I couldn’t get a hold of you.”

Get a hold of them? They’d had their phones with them. Although – not while they were camped out on the hood, when their jackets were still in the car. And he hadn’t checked it after to see if he had any missed calls because he’d still been way too excited about the kiss.

“Did something happen to Prince Noctis?” Ignis asked, voice full of the same guilt Gladio could feel washing through himself.

“No,” Regis said, stepping back so they could come inside.

He led them down a hallway, which looked dark and imposing to Gladio now. Their steps echoed against the high walls.

“You just aren’t usually unavailable, so I was surprised. I wanted to tell you that tomorrow’s audience will be delayed, so your attendance is needed a couple hours later. Which may be for the best, considering you might be tired… may I ask where you were so late at night?”

“I’m sorry!” Gladio burst out, suddenly. “It was my fault. I convinced Ignis. He just came with me so I wouldn’t get in trouble out there.”

Regis stopped and turned around to them, one eyebrow raised. Gladio opened his mouth to continue apologising, but Ignis, who had been hanging his head, jerked to a halt and looked fiercely up at the king.

“Your Highness, that’s not true! Gladiolus isn’t at fault alone. I came with him because I wanted to.”

Gladio was sorely tempted to step on Ignis’ foot, but settled for an angry stare instead. Why was he making it worse for himself?!

“So where _did_ you go?” Regis asked, again.

“Just… into the city. We were looking at the cars, and… nothing really special.”

Gladio hoped to the gods he wasn’t blushing. Regis had seen them holding hands, he was pretty sure.

“We were just talking,” Ignis offered feebly.

Regis looked between the two of them. There was a wan smile on his face.

“Sometimes, it’s easy to forget how young you are. It speaks for you, but I don’t know if it doesn’t make things too simple for me and your parents sometimes,” he said.

Gladio glanced at Ignis from the corner of his eyes. He wasn’t sure what to make of that comment.

“I apologise, your Highness,” he gave back because it was the only thing he could think to say.

“Don’t make escaping into the night a habit. You’re thirteen years old, it’s not safe for you to be out alone at this hour.”

Again, Gladio and Ignis looked at each other. Of all objections to their behaviour, this was not one either of them had expected, Gladio was sure.

“We won’t ever do it again, your Highness,” Ignis said finally and Gladio nodded fervently.

“You should really get to bed. Up to your guest chambers, you two.”

“I have research to do, so I will retire to the library,” Ignis answered.

“I need to go to the Crownsguard barracks to practice.”

“We didn’t plan on not doing our duties, your Highness,” Ignis said hastily, “we just… we were being silly for a bit.”

“No, you’ll go to bed, both of you,” Regis said, in that tone of voice that made you remember he was king right away.

Ignis cringed slightly like he’d been slapped over the head and Gladio tried to keep the fear off his face as best he could as he stared at the ground. He heard Regis sigh.

“I accept your apologies,” he said, less stern now. “I won’t tell your parents, either, but only if you listen. Now go.”

Surprised, Gladio looked up again, but then decided it was best to take this chance and not dig too deep. He bowed before Regis, Ignis next to him doing the same, and thanked him hastily before he pushed down the hallway with Ignis at his side, towards the stairs that would bring them to the guest chambers. As he glanced carefully over his shoulder, he saw Regis still looking after them. For some reason, the smile on his face seemed sad.


End file.
